America's Next Big Metropolis Emerging Now Along I-35

You read the headline correctly.

Forbes magazine says America's next big growth area is happening to our immediate south. We have heard this before, but when it comes from a national publication with a reputation like Forbes, people tend to sit up and listen.

Let's get down to brass tacks: part of the area they're citing as Hill Country is what we call Central Texas. Bell County borders Williamson County which is very much part of the Boom area. I know we've had our ups and downs here, between the loss of the potential Toyota plant two times when Kaline's population emptied due to a military column. However, since 2000 our population has doubled. I-35 is making progress (slowly albeit) and that is the main link transportation-wise to this growing area cited in the magazine. Our community leaders need to plan for the future: what do we have to do to take advantage of this boom? Can we make our area more conducive to new business development without negatively impacting quality of life?

More and more people are making their home in Texas not only because of our economy but because of the great schools and real sense of community. We let people be who they are and at the same time expect them to give and be a part of our community. That's the way we do it in Texas.

Once again we are talking about the area between San Antonio and Austin, being referred to as Hill Country. We've heard the stories about rich folks flocking to the area looking for both land and privacy while being close to the amenities of a large city and the natural enjoyment of our Texas lakes.

Forbes doesn't mince words when it says Travis county is the center of it all.

Comparisons with the other big metros are almost pathetic. Austin’s job growth has been roughly three times that of New York, more than four times that of San Francisco, five times Los Angeles’ and 10 times that of Chicago," writes Joel Kotken, who specializes in demography. "Simply put, Austin is putting the rest of the big metro areas in the shade.

He cite's a recent Texas Monthly piece which called the area "the land of the perpetual boom." As much as we've heard the petroleum industry is having one of its periodic slumps in the Lone Star State, it doesn't seem to of had much of an effect overall.

I think now would be a good time to look at this great video from Choose Temple: